Kobe Bryant suffers sprained right pinkie finger

X-rays on the finger, taken after the Lakers' 93-81 victory, were negative.

Bryant was injured in the first quarter. He had trainer Gary Vitti tape the finger so he could continue to play.

"It was tough to hold the basketball, so it really affected it," Bryant said.

Bryant was three for 11 from the field, finishing with a season-low nine points. He was never aggressive, and said it was becasue of his painful finger.

"It was numb for about 20 minutes," Bryant said.

Bryant was asked how he injured his finger.

"Pau [Gasol] threw a bad pass," Bryant said, smiling.

Bryant had problems with the right hand last season as well. He played most of the season with an avulsion fracture of his right index finger. But Bryant elected not to have surgery on the finger last summer, saying it would have taken too long to recover.

There were games last season in which Bryant was hit on the finger, and it left him in pain.